Don’t Count on Indonesia to Repeal Export Ban

By

Ira Iosebashvili

May 12, 2014 5:40 pm ET

Indonesia’s export ban on nickel is here to stay, analysts at Citi say.

Nickel prices are up more than 50% this year, thanks to Indonesia’s decision to stop exports of the ore mined on its islands, which threatens to send the market into deficit by the second half of the year. Prices for the metal rose 6% on Monday alone, to close at $20,925 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, as investors worry about tightening supplies.

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